Avast, ye scurvy dogs! Pirate games may be popular on the App Store, but there’s one series that started it all on PC: The Secret of Monkey Island. The iOS ports of this classic Lucasarts series featured vastly improved graphics, but the humor and adventure are just as good as they were in the early 90s. Read on for our collection of Monkey Island reviews.

The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition

Lucasarts may not be around anymore, but their classic adventure games still live on in the App Store. The Secret of Monkey Island introduced gamers to Guybrush Threepwood, a twerpy pirate-wannabe who joins with a crew to find lost treasure, rescue the governor, and defeat the dread pirate LeChuck. Though it used a well-established Lucasarts adventure game system (SCUMM), The Secret of Monkey Island had groundbreaking gameplay of its own: Sword-fighting consisted of trading insults and comebacks, instead of a twitchy minigame.

Key Quote: “The Secret of Monkey Island is a truly memorable experience, whether or not this is the first time you’ve played it. The new graphics, voice work, hint system and autosave make a great game even better.”

Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck’s Revenge

The sequel to The Secret of Monkey Island once again upgraded the graphics (with a nifty two-finger swipe when you wanted to see the original, low-res graphics) and brought Guybrush into his own as a seasoned sailor. This sequel also had brand-new music and voice acting to bring these classic characters to life. For longtime fans, the ability to listen to developer commentary as you played was completely novel– it made replaying this game a joy, and provided a great experience for first-time pirates.

Key Quote: “If you have never played Monkey Island 2, you must, must, must buy this special edition. If you, like many of us, have played through the classic numerous times, you will be overjoyed to find out just how much fun the game can still be.”

Monkey Island Tales 1 HD

Although the main Monkey Island games reached their conclusion in 2000, the series was reborn with Telltale Games’ episodic adventures. We reviewed the first game in the new series, Monkey Island Tales 1 HD, and thought that it was a pretty good extension of the franchise. The 3D graphics and animation are enjoyable, as is the witty dialogue, but the story ends on a cliffhanger that leads right into the next episode. For a more modern take on the classic adventure genre, Telltale’s Monkey Island series is still a great iOS download.

Key Quote: “The puzzles are innovate, clever, and fun, and the humor and dialogue is fantastic. You should rarely have to turn to a walkthrough to solve a tricky puzzle, but the game is also not overly easy. For adventure games, it’s a good blend.”

Tomorrow, we’ll take a look back at Gameloft’s version of Call of Duty, the Modern Combat series.

This article is part of a series about the best games on iOS, 2008-2013. You can read the rest here.

As usual, December was a great month for iOS gamers, with big games dropping every week (at least until the yearly week-long App Store shutdown over Christmas). But one game in particular blew us away with its moody atmosphere and excellent design, so we had to give it this month’s highest honor. The game is The Room Two. (more…)

Things are heating up as the year comes to a close. November was a fantastic month for iOS gamers, with a huge number of Must Have titles hitting the App Store. So whether you wanted to build a Death Star or run and jump as Mickey Mouse, the App Store had you covered. But there can be only one Game of the Month, and November’s is Oceanhorn by Cornfox & Bros. (more…)

Last week, the first generation of iOS 7 controllers were officially revealed to the world and immediately became available for purchase. First we went hands-on with the Logitech PowerShell, and now we’ve had a chance to extensively test the MOGA Ace Power controller. While the Ace Power has more buttons and joysticks than Logitech’s controller, the flimsy plastic feel, limited battery, and spotty support on the App Store make us question whether it’s really the future of iOS gaming. (more…)

October was another fine month for iOS gamers, with a number of notable titles coming out across a variety of genres. So whether you wanted to kill gorgeously rendered zombies or drive a race car, the App Store had you covered. But there can be only one Game of the Month, and this month it’s Device 6. (more…)

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Industrial Toys has released it’s follow-up to the great Midnight Star. In Renegade, a much more casual game, the focus is on short bursts of play and the never-ending constant upgrading of weapons and gear. This game brings the great controls for a mobile FPS that the previous version had, but focuses less on the story and more on the frantic gameplay.

Heroes of Loot 2 is an update to the original that brings even more to love of the original. This time around the player chooses two player types to take into the dungeon, switching between them in the game as needed.

Heroes of Loot 2 is 50% off right now for launch.

After their job, of keeping the dungeons in balance, was done, our heroes needed a new job. Roaming the lands they found a call for heroes, a castle in need, possible even a damsel in distress?

Pick two heroes to take into the adventure, controlling both heroes and using their special skills to navigate the dangerous castle hallways, rooms and floors. Switching between the two characters to solve quests, puzzles, and of course clear the dungeons of all evil.

Human Resources Corporation, from some of the same fine folks that brought us World of Goo is a puzzle games that makes some of the basics of programming into a fun little exercise.

The premise is that the player is a new recruit in a corporation that need to tell other in game characters how to move and act by giving a set of program commands to complete tasks. It’s a great introduction to the logic used in programming and a fun little game with great personality. Which is expected considering the team that created this.

Temple Run 2 has done it again. Expanded into a whole new world with the Blazing Sands expansion. Available now in the game.

Touch Arcade notes:

It’s called “Blazing Sands,” and as you can see from the above trailer, you’ll be running through canyons along side raging rapids and Egyptian-y looking statues while marauding vines are smacking you in the face… Which really isn’t much of a surprise as vines in video games seem to be jerks almost 100% of the time. Of course there’s new stuff to unlock too between new outfits and Blazing Sands artifacts. If you collect ’em all, you’ll even get a swanky new hat.

From Martin Magni, the developer of the great Odd Bot Out, Mekorama hit the App Store this week. This charming puzzle game has the player guide a robot through a series of very unique 3D puzzles. The puzzles have shades of Monument Valley without the Escher inspired vibe.

One of the features that really sets this game apart from others is the integrated level editor. This lets players create their own levels and share them via a simple QR code integrated image. Take a look at the new levels shared on Twitter with the #Mekorama hashtag. I’ve even created one to test the path finding skills of that little robot.

Mekorama is free in the App Store with a pay what you want price model.

There have been a lot of games that have aped the style of Monument Valley, but not that have really gotten the idea and complexity of the game. That is until Evo Explores. Evo Explores really understand the game and does a great job of adding puzzle types to the original that it unashamedly takes inspiration from. It’s so good that members of the Monument Valley team have remarked how impressed they are.

But beside that, the game can stand on its own as well. It’s a great suspension of belief type puzzler with new and interesting mechanics and is just plain fun. The story that goes along is a little weak, but then again that’s just a small part of the game. Well worth a download.

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